Electricity

Peter Hain: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what discussions she has had with the Welsh Assembly Government on the removal of its subsidy of biomass for electricity.

Cheryl Gillan: There are no plans to remove the subsidy for biomass electricity generation in England and Wales.
	The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), on behalf of the UK Government, are currently consulting in England and Wales on subsidy levels for large-scale renewable electricity generation under the renewables obligation for the period 2013-17.

Audit Commission

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 9 November 2011, Official Report, columns 330-1W, on Audit Commission, if he will publish the methodology that was used to calculate the estimated savings arising from the abolition of the Audit Commission.

Bob Neill: The estimate of savings given by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), announcement of 13 August 2010 was published on my Department's website in September 2010:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/corporate/pdf/1732653.pdf
	This estimate was derived from the operating costs of the Audit Commission's corporate and central directorates, as reported in the Commission's Annual Report for the financial year 2008-09, and expectations of lower fees for audit bodies as a result of competition.
	We will set out a more detailed assessment of savings and costs in an Impact Assessment, before we bring forward legislation.

Fire Services: Pensions

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he has had discussions with the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland on the effect of Government policy on firefighters' pensions.

Bob Neill: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), is responsible for the firefighters' pension schemes in England only, and has no role in relation to firefighters' pensions in Northern Ireland.
	The Government's policy on public service pension reform is being led by the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, the right hon. Member for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey (Danny Alexander), and, as such, public service pension reform was discussed at the last meeting of the devolved Finance Ministers' quadrilateral meeting in July.

Gurkhas: Aldershot

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions (a) he and (b) his Department have had with Rushmoor Borough Council on funding to help Gurkha immigrants settle in Aldershot.

Andrew Stunell: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, the right hon. Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), wrote to Councillor Peter Moyle, the leader of Rushmore borough council, recently informing him about the announcement of £1.5 million of Government funding to support the successful integration of retired Gurkha soldiers, and offering to meet to discuss the fund.
	My officials have been in touch with the chief executive of Rushmoor borough council to discuss the fund and are due to meet Rushmoor council on 29 November. Other local authorities with a major Gurkha population will be contacted over the next month.

Water

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment his Department has made of the merits of the introduction of a statutory requirement to include non-potable water systems fed through rainwater harvesting in all new build houses.

Andrew Stunell: To reduce the use of wholesome water, the 2010 changes to the building regulations introduced requirements for a calculated whole building performance standard for water use in new homes, currently set at 125 litres/person/day.
	As the regulations are a functional approach, they also allow the use of non-wholesome water for flushing of WCs and other non-potable uses, such as irrigation, and the approved documents that provide statutory guidance in support of the building regulations give additional advice on the use of rainwater harvesting and water from baths, basins and showers (referred to as "greywater") for non-potable uses.
	This approach reflects a policy in which water efficiency measures should always be considered before rainwater harvesting or greywater systems, which, if not properly designed and installed, carry a risk of cross-connection and can be more energy and carbon intensive than mains supplies.
	Furthermore, The Code for Sustainable Homes encourages higher levels of water efficiency and sustainable drainage. Code level 3 is required by Government for all new housing funded by the Homes and Communities Agency and, subject to viability, local authorities can require housing developments in their area to meet specified higher code levels.

Andrew Cahn

Iain Wright: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what (a) dates and (b) occasions he has (i) met, (ii) spoken to or (iii) corresponded with Sir Andrew Cahn since he ceased to hold the position of Chief Executive of UK Trade and Investment; what issues were discussed on each occasion; and if he will make a statement.

Chloe Smith: Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations and individuals in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery.
	The Treasury publishes a list of ministerial meetings with external organisations, available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/minister_hospitality.htm

Banking: Business

William Bain: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the level of bank lending to small and medium-sized enterprises in 2011.

Mark Hoban: On 9 February 2011, Official Report, columns 310-13, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, my right hon. Friend the Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced a new commitment by the UK’s biggest high street banks on lending expectations and capacity. As part of this commitment, the banks intend to lend £76 billion of new credit to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in 2011. This is a 15% increase on 2010 lending of £66 billion.
	It is encouraging that the banks have loaned £157 billion to UK businesses so far this year—20% more than they did at this time last year, despite difficult global economic conditions. While they have also leaned 10% more to SMEs than they did at this point in 2010, the Government are clear that they must do more to meet their commitment for the full year.

Excise Duties: Fuels

Julian Huppert: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of feebate schemes which provide a refund to new-car buyers for purchasing low-emission cars funded by taxes on high-emission cars; and whether he has any plans to introduce such a scheme.

Chloe Smith: The Government support the take up of low emissions cars by offering exemptions and tax relief for zero and low emissions cars through company car tax and vehicle excise duty. In addition, the Government are offering a grant of up to £5,000 to buyers of ultra-low carbon cars until 31 March 2012.

Loans: Northern Ireland

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether factors other than application of the Barnett formula were used to determine the Northern Ireland block grant announced in October 2011.

Danny Alexander: holding answer 17 October 2011
	The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the right hon. Member for Tatton (Mr Osborne), announced on 3 October 2011, that the Government have set aside an extra £805 million to support local authorities to help them freeze council tax in 2012. The devolved Administrations received Barnett consequentials determined by the Barnett formula in the normal way.

Arts

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what assessment his Department has made of the future requirement for independent business involvement in the creative industries.

Edward Vaizey: The creative industries are, as the name suggests, largely made up of independent businesses. The current definition includes the not-for-profit arts areas, but the thrust of our creative industries' strategy is very much towards those sectors where we anticipate sustained growth in the future. We accordingly engage closely with creative industry businesses and business organisations, including in the Creative Industries' Council, to ensure that our policies facilitate such growth.

Broadband: Northern Ireland

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what steps he plans to take to increase 3G mobile broadband coverage in Northern Ireland to levels similar to the rest of the UK.

Edward Vaizey: The Government recently announced that they were providing an additional £150 million to improve mobile phone coverage in the UK. Discussions have begun as to how this funding can be best used to improve coverage.
	Although the principal objective will be to fill in not-spots in the national 2G mobile coverage and raise the coverage level to 99%, wherever possible any infrastructure provided will be capable of supporting 3G and, when available, 4G services. At this stage however, it isn't possible to say how 3G mobile broadband coverage will be improved.

Sport England

Simon Reevell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how Sport England will hold each national governing body of sport accountable for increasing grass-roots participation in sport as part of the 2013-17 whole sport plans;
	(2)  if he will instruct Sport England to ensure that when national governing bodies allocate lottery and Exchequer funding to increase participation in sports it is allocated on the basis of payment by results.

Hugh Robertson: The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), wrote to all national governing bodies of sport on 19 July, stating that the next round of whole sport plan funding from 2013, will be based on a proven ability to maintain and increase participation, and funding will be decreased or may cease altogether for organisations that fail to achieve their objectives.

British Nationals Abroad: Prisoners

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many UK nationals are serving custodial sentences in (a) EU member states and (b) non-EU states.

Jeremy Browne: As of March 2011 we were aware of 554 British nationals in detention in EU countries, and a further 1,522 in other countries worldwide. These figures include individuals detained at all stages of the legal process. We are unable to estimate how many of those are serving custodial sentences because our case-handling database does not collate this information. Estimating this figure would incur disproportionate cost. Supporting British nationals in difficulty around the world is a priority for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. This support is explained in our publication “Support for British nationals abroad; A guide”, available on the FCO website at:
	www.fco.gov.uk/resources/en/pdf/2855621/support-for-british-nationals-abroad.pdf
	We aim to contact British nationals, depending on local circumstances, within 24-hours of being told of their arrest or detention. Our role is to provide information about the local legal system, including the availability of local English-speaking lawyers, and to support the welfare of the detainee.

Sexual Offences: Children

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people convicted for sexual offences were barred from working with children in each year since 2005.

Lynne Featherstone: The information is not available in the form requested. A person may be barred by the Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) on the basis of an automatic barring offence, or following discretionary consideration of criminal offences or relevant information provided by employers. Information about the number of people barred on the basis of the offence type is not recorded in a readily retrievable format and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) began making barring decisions under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 on 20 January 2009. The following table shows the total number of people placed on the ISA children’s barred list under the automatic barring procedure. Approximately 80% of all automatic barring cases received by the ISA relate to sexual offences.
	
		
			 Time period People automatically placed on the children’s barred list Number of those people who remain barred today 
			 20 January 2009 to 31 December 2009 3,962 3,728 
			 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010 12,533 11,484 
			 1 January 2011 to 15 November 2011 11,153 10,692 
		
	
	The difference between the figures in the two columns reflects the adjustment for the number of cases where the person has been removed following representations to the ISA, reviews or appeals.
	The following table shows the total number of people who, having been placed on the ISA children’s barred list via the discretionary procedure in the year shown, remain on that list.
	
		
			 Time period Number of people 
			 20 January 2009 to 31 December 2009 25 
			 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010 181 
			 1 January 2011 to 15 November 2011 168 
		
	
	Prior to 20 January 2009, decisions to bar individuals from working with children were taken by the then Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, the right hon. Member for Morley and Outwood (Ed Balls), under section 142 of the Education Act 2002, via the ‘list 99’ system. The data on the number of people barred in each of those years specifically because of their convictions for sexual offences is not available. However, successive Secretaries of State reported to the House on the number of people on list 99, as set out in the following table.
	
		
			 Date of statement Date to which figure relates Number of people on list 99  (1) 
			 19 January 2006 (2)— (3)4,045 
			 28 February 2007 27 February 2007 4,921 
			 17 March 2008 13 March 2008 8,036 
			 20 January 2009 19 January 2009 12,992 
			 (1) Cumulative. (2) Not specified, but shortly before the statement. (3) Including 513 people added to the list in 2005 
		
	
	In the same period, the Secretary of State was also responsible for barring people from work in certain child care positions under the Protection of Children Act 1999 (‘PoCA’). Inclusion on that list led to automatic inclusion in list 99, so the above figures include all those barred under PoCA.

Bus Services

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the Government's response to the Transport Committee's Eighth Report of Session 2010-12, Bus services after the Spending Review, published with the Committee's Ninth Report of Session 2010-12, HC 1550, when her Department will publish the result of its work with the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers on collating information in respect of tendered bus services across England.

Norman Baker: The Department for Transport is working with the Association of Transport Co-ordinating Officers to agree how information in respect of tendered bus services is collated, and the nature and timing of any future publication of that data.

Departmental Design

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what contracts her Department has awarded for design services since May 2010; and what information her Department holds on the location of such companies;
	(2)  how much her Department has spent on design in respect of (a) logos, (b) buildings, (c) advertising, (d) stationery and (e) campaigns in the last year for which figures are available.

Norman Baker: The information is as follows:
	Design contracts
	Since May 2010, the Department for Transport, including its seven executive agencies, has awarded the following visual design contracts for communications media.
	
		
			 Contract title Value (£) Supplier 
			 THINK! Road Safety secondary education website design (technical and visual design and build/delivery) 52,000 EdComms 
			 THINK! Road Safety primary education website design amendments 2,315 EdComms 
			 SHARP Motorcycle Safety website design amendments 750 EdComms 
			 Blue Badge Scheme logo design for information pack and workshops for local authorities 1,200 Domarn Ltd 
			 Maritime Coastguard Agency Annual Report Design 1,410 Chalk and Ward 
			 Safety Leaflet Design 752 Rima Design 
			 Safety Leaflet Design 140 Rima Design 
			 Questionnaire Design 282 Rima Design 
			 Safety Leaflet Design 552 Spy Design 
		
	
	All companies are London based except Chalk and Ward who are based in Devon.
	Design  c osts
	In respect of design costs in last year for which figures are available, in the financial year 2010-11 the Department for Transport, including its seven executive agencies, spent £1,200 on logo design. There was no expenditure on the design of stationery in 2010-11.
	Spend on design in respect of advertising, campaigns and buildings is not separately recorded from other costs on buildings, advertising and campaigns and this could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Emergencies

Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  how many full-time equivalent staff work on the transport workstream of the Capabilities Programme; and what the staffing level was in each of the last 10 quarters;
	(2)  who the lead Minister in her Department is for the transport workstream of the Capabilities Programme;
	(3)  what the budget was for the transport workstream of the Capabilities Programme in each year since 2005; and what the budget will be during the comprehensive spending review period.

Justine Greening: Work on the Capabilities programme has been carried out within the budgetary provision for work on transport security and contingency planning. The programme does not have a specific budgetary allocation.
	Varying numbers of staff from across the Department and its agencies have contributed to the work of the Capabilities programme over the years. Information on the overall numbers that are or have been involved is not held. But of those in my Department currently involved in this work as part of their duties, the equivalent of one full-time staff member is engaged in the transport work-stream.
	I lead on this policy area.

Parking: Westminster

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions (a) she, (b) her Ministers and (c) officials in her Department have had with Westminster council on parking changes; and if she will make a statement.

Norman Baker: holding answer 14 November 2011
	Neither Ministers nor officials at the Department for Transport have had recent discussions with Westminster city council on parking charges.
	The setting of parking charges in local authority car parks and in on-street parking bays is a matter for the local authority, in accordance with powers available. to it in the Road Traffic Regulation Act (RTRA) 1984. The Department's operational guidance to local authorities, “Parking Policy and Enforcement”, makes clear that it is for each local authority to decide what to charge for parking and the decision should reflect the objectives of their Local Transport Plan. The revenue that local authorities raise from on-street parking charges must be used in accordance with section 55 (as amended) of the RTRA 1984, which limits the use of surplus funds to transport related objectives or for environmental purposes.

Ports

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what plans her Department has to review the 2002 Project Appraisal Framework for Ports.

Michael Penning: The Department intends to complete a review of the “Project Appraisal Framework for Ports” during 2012.

Road Traffic Control

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions she has had with (a) the National Union of Journalists and (b) proprietors of local newspapers on her proposals to amend guidelines requiring local authorities to publish temporary and permanent traffic regulation orders in local newspapers.

Norman Baker: The Secretary of State for Transport, the right hon. Member for Putney (Justine Greening), has not had discussions with the National Union of Journalists or proprietors of local newspapers on the proposals to amend guidelines requiring local authorities to publish temporary and permanent traffic regulation orders in local newspapers. The Department will be going to full public consultation on this matter shortly, providing anyone with an interest with the opportunity to respond.

BAE Systems

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the oral answer to the hon. Member for Hyndburn of 14 November 2011, Official Report, column 574, and to the answer from the Chancellor of the Exchequer to the hon. Member for Fylde of 1 November 2011, Official Report, column 758, on BAE Systems, whether the job losses at BAE Systems are due to a slow down in the Euro fighter programme or as a result of a slowing down in UK-US defence orders in the F35 programme.

Peter Luff: BAE Systems issued a statement on 27 September 2011 which attributed the job losses to a number of factors, including a slower than planned increase in the F-35 production rates and an agreement by the Eurofighter Typhoon partner nations to a request from industry to slow Eurofighter Typhoon delivery rates in order to protect their industrial capacities to service anticipated export orders. The statement also acknowledged the need to reduce costs to ensure that the company remained competitive both in the UK and internationally. For its part, the UK Government are energetically promoting exports of the Eurofighter Typhoon which will help maintain highly skilled jobs in the UK defence and aerospace industry.

Military Aircraft

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many qualified fast jet pilots were available for active service at each year end since 2008.

Andrew Robathan: The following table gives information for the number of Royal Air Force and Royal Navy fast jet pilots who were qualified and current on a front-line fast-jet type as at 1 April for the last three years.
	
		
			  Royal Navy and Royal Marines Royal Air Force 
			 1 April 2009 20 290 
			 1 April 2010 20 260 
			 1 April 2011 0 200 
		
	
	The information has been rounded to the nearest 10.
	The number of pilots available for active service will vary on a daily basis, for reasons including other work duties, sickness or annual leave. Retrieving this data would require a manual search of individual pilots' records and so this information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The reduction in fast-jet pilot numbers reflects the withdrawal from service of the Harrier and Tornado F3 aircraft.

Departmental Flags

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many flags his Department (a) owns and (b) maintains; and at what cost to the public purse

Alan Duncan: As from May this year the Union Jack flies all year round outside the Department for International Development in London.
	The Department for International Development's office in East Kilbride, Scotland
	has six flags consisting of:
	two Union flags that are flown all year round;
	one St Andrew flag that is flown all year round;
	two European Union flags that are flown when directed. These have not been flown since May 2010.
	one Armed Forces day flag that is flown on Armed Forces day and when directed.
	These flags were bought several years ago. There are currently no maintenance costs on these flags.

Developing Countries: Food

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the L'Aquila food security initiative in (a) increasing food security and (b) reducing malnutrition.

Andrew Mitchell: After two years of our three year AFSI financial commitment period (2009-12) we have disbursed over 80% of the £1.1 billion committed by the UK. We expect to meet our spending commitment in full by the end of 2012 through both our bilateral and multilateral channels. Examples of results that UK funding for food security related activities has helped to achieve include high yielding rice varieties specifically suited to dryland areas now grown by three million households across India; the development of vaccines for East Coast Fever and support for the eradication of Rinderpest—two important diseases of cattle in Africa—which will improve the livelihoods of millions. And in Ethiopia, DFID support is helping 1.2 million people escape long term dependency on food aid by promoting cash for work, which is giving the poorest an income to invest in their farms and send their children to school, and building vital community infrastructure such as water points.
	On malnutrition, along with a number of partner governments, the Gates Foundation and multilateral agencies, we are supporting the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) initiative—the most promising mechanism for accelerating action to improve nutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child's life and have already committed to double our reach through nutrition interventions from 10 million to 20 million children under five years of age.
	The UK is working with other the AFSI signatories to develop robust evaluation process for reviewing the impact of both the AFSI financial commitments and the commitments made to the five aid effectiveness and partnership principles underpinning their efforts.

Somalia: Asylum

Nicola Blackwood: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps he is taking to work with the international community and the Government of Kenya to identify lasting solutions for the Somali refugee population which respect international legal principles.

Andrew Mitchell: I discussed refugee issues with the Government of Kenya during my visit to Kenya in July, when I also visited the Dadaab refugee camp. I also saw the Kenyan Minister of State for Provincial Administration and internal Security, George Saitoti when he visited London on 21 November.
	Resettlement and local integration are unlikely to provide durable solutions for the vast majority of Somali refugees. Opportunities should be taken to incentivise voluntary to Somalia return where it is safe to do so. But large scale return remains unlikely without greater stability in Somalia—a key objective of our development and political engagement there.
	UK Government officials therefore continue to work with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other donors to press the Kenyan Government to fulfil their obligations under international refugee law. My Department has allocated £6 million since July to UNHCR and other partners to support 130,000 refugees with relief assistance, including healthcare, nutrition, shelter and water and sanitation. I am currently considering what support we should provide in 2012.

Criminal Injuries Compensation: Sexual Offences

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in how many (a) rape and (b) adult sexual assault applications compensation has been refused or reduced by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board due to (i) previous convictions or other bad character, (ii) the applicant having been found not to be a victim of crime, (iii) the applicant not fulfilling the requirement of reporting the matter to the police without delay, (iv) the applicant not supporting a prosecution and (v) any other reason in each of the last five years.

Jonathan Djanogly: CICA do not have figures showing how many people were refused compensation categorised by reference to specific crimes. The Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme (the scheme), which was approved by Parliament in 2008, provides for awards to be assessed primarily by reference to criminal injuries. Injury descriptions, from the scheme's 'tariff of injuries', are therefore used as the primary basis for calculating and recording payments actually made.
	CICA can produce figures based on awards paid. The tariff contains several injury descriptions that could apply to people who have been sexually assaulted, a subset of those descriptions are the most likely to apply to victims of rape. The figures CICA is able to produce, which follow, are therefore based on claims where they paid awards to adult victims for these injury descriptions. Figures are not included for those who were found not to have been victims of a crime, since CICA would not pay an award in those circumstances.
	
		
			 Number of reduced awards for rape/other sexual assault 
			  Convictions or character Delay in reporting Not supporting a prosecution Other 
			 Financial year Rape Other Rape Other Rape Other Rape Other 
			 2006-07 42 11 3 l 4 2 81 2 
			 2007-08 30 20 2 l 31 1 14 4 
			 2008-09 44 20 l 3 2 0 21 0 
			 2009-10 49 27 0 2 3 l 0 0 
			 2010-11 71 34 3 0 2 l 0 0

Criminal Injuries Compensation: Sexual Offences

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) rape and (b) adult sexual assault victims have applied for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in each of the last five years; and how many received full awards of the recommended amount.

Jonathan Djanogly: CICA do not have complete figures for how many people made applications under the Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme (the scheme) categorised by reference to specific crimes. The scheme, which was approved by Parliament in 2008, provides for payments to be made by reference to criminal injuries. Injury descriptions, from the scheme's ‘tariff of injuries’, are therefore used as the primary basis for calculating awards so they are only reliably recorded once CICA have assessed someone as eligible to receive the compensation payable for that injury.
	CICA can produce figures based on awards paid. The tariff contains several injury descriptions that could apply to people who have been sexually assaulted, a subset of those descriptions are the most likely to apply to victims of rape. The figures CICA are able to produce, which follow, are therefore based on claims where they paid awards to adult victims for these injury descriptions.
	
		
			 Number of full awards 
			 Financial year Rape Other sexual assault 
			 2006-07 377 490 
			 2007-08 504 522 
			 2008-09 773 573 
			 2009-10 726 525 
			 2010-11 854 527

Criminal Injuries Compensation: Sexual Offences

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) rape and (b) adult sexual assault victims who were refused compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority were granted it by the First Tier Tribunal in each of the last five years.

Jonathan Djanogly: Awards under the Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme are based on the injuries people sustain. Injury descriptions, from the Criminal Injuries Compensation scheme's 'tariff of injuries', are used as the primary basis for paying compensation.
	CICA can produce figures based on awards paid. The tariff contains several injury descriptions that could apply to people who have been sexually assaulted, a subset of those descriptions are the most likely to apply to victims of rape. The following table shows the number of awards the Tribunals Service have made for sexual offence injury descriptions in cases CICA initially refused in each of the last five financial years.
	
		
			 Number of appeals awards following CICA refusal 
			 Financial year Rape Other sexual assault 
			 2006-07 23 12 
			 2007-08 22 15 
			 2008-09 25 10 
			 2009-10 23 8 
			 2010-11 21 7

Agriculture: Conditions of Employment

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had with ministerial colleagues on the potential effects on agricultural workers of proposed changes to employment regulations.

James Paice: The Government are committed to reviewing employment enforcement and compliance law over the lifetime of the current Parliament. As part of this process, DEFRA officials work closely with colleagues in other Departments to assess the affect of employment law proposals on agricultural workers. However, there have been no recent cross-departmental ministerial discussions on this issue.

Departmental ICT

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the status is of her Department's new SAM IT system.

James Paice: Release 6 (R6) of AHVLA's Sam system went live on 26 September 2011. There have been some issues with the implementation of the system.
	AHVLA and their IT services contractor are working closely to resolve all the issues and are confident that the Sam system will be functioning normally by mid- December, with significant improvements week by week.

Departmental Pay

Stephen Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many officials in her Department and the bodies for which she is responsible earned more than (a) £65,000, (b) £95,000, (c) £140,000 and (d) £175,000 in the last year for which figures are available.

Richard Benyon: The following table shows the number of staff in core-DEFRA and its Executive Agencies (The Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Rural Payments Agency, Food and Environment Research Agency and Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) with base pay of more than (a) £65,000, (b) £95,000, (c) £140,000 and (d) £175,000.
	
		
			 Organisation Salary band (£) Number of staff 
			 DEFRA £65,000 to £94,999 148 
			  £95,000 to£139,999 19 
			  £140,000to £174,999 2 
			  £175,000+ — 
			 Animal Health Veterinary Laboratories Agency £65,000 to £94,999 9 
			  £95,000 to £139,999 2 
			  £140,000 to £174,999 — 
			  £175,000+ — 
			 Veterinary Medicines Directorate £65,000 to £94,999 3 
			  £95,000 to £139,999 1 
			  £140,000 to £174,999 — 
			  £175,000+ — 
			 Rural Payments Agency £65,000 to £94,999 3 
			  £95,000 to £139,999 1 
			  £140,000 to £174,999 1 
			  £175,000+ — 
			 Food and Environment Research Agency £65,000 to £94,999 3 
			  £95,000 to £139,999 3 
			  £140,000 to £174,999 — 
			  £175,000+ — 
			 Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science £65,000 to £94,999 3 
			  £95,000 to £139,999 1 
			  £140,000 to £174,999 — 
			  £175,000+ —

Departmental Responsibilities

Fiona O'Donnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on what dates the (a) Green Infrastructure Partnership, (b) Natural Capital Committee and (c) Ecosystem Markets Task Force has met.

Richard Benyon: The Green Infrastructure Partnership was launched on 11 October with many partners in attendance. Officials have had numerous bilateral meetings with partners and we are organising the first partnership workshop for 5 December this year.
	We are currently recruiting the chair and members of the Natural Capital Committee, and expect that its first meeting will be in early 2012.
	The Ecosystem Markets Task Force is launching on 23 November at the Nomura HQ in London and the first meeting of the taskforce is due in early December. There has already been significant pre-work with the chair, members and the secretariat to ensure that the taskforce gets off to a good start.

Departmental Security

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to improve cyber-security in relation to her Department’s estate; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: Government take cyber-security very seriously and it has been categorised as a tier 1 threat to UK national security. £650 million is being invested over the next four years in a National Cyber Security Programme, working across Departments, with the private sector, international partners and citizens to improve the UK’s cyber-security capability.
	DEFRA routinely assesses the prevailing threats to its ICT systems and applies appropriate and proportionate measures in accordance with the Government standards set out in the Cabinet Office’s Security Policy Framework (SPF); these standards are aligned with industry best practice approaches.
	It is not in the interest of national security to make public details of particular improvements in relation to individual Departments as it may expose vulnerabilities to those who may seek to exploit them.

Dogs: Tagging

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she has taken to increase the numbers of dogs which are micro-chipped.

James Paice: The Government support voluntary microchipping of dogs. DEFRA Ministers and officials are currently engaged with key stakeholders from wider government, the police, animal welfare and dog keeping organisations about how to promote more responsible dog ownership and tackle dangerous dogs. One of the proposals under consideration is the compulsory microchipping of dogs.

Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group

Julian Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions she has had on the future of the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group.

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment she has made of the future of independent environmental and conservation advice to farmers in the event that the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group closes.

James Paice: Pursuing the twin objectives of a competitive farming sector which plays a full part in protecting and improving the environment is a priority for this Government and the Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG) epitomises that dual purpose.
	The Farming Regulation Task Force identified the importance of ensuring that the environmental messages we give to farmers and their advisors are clear and well-prioritised. In the Natural Environment White Paper we have committed to undertake a review of advice and incentives for farmers. In taking this work forward we are very conscious of the role of independent environmental and conservation advice providers, such as FWAG.
	Officials from DEFRA and Natural England have been in close contact with FWAG over recent weeks to establish the facts of the current situation and understand the implications. Now that FWAG has gone into administration I know that local groups are examining ways in which they can continue their work.
	FWAG played an important role in the delivery of advice for a number of Government initiatives, including helping farmers to participate in agri-environment schemes and the campaign for the Farmed Environment. The need for this work will continue and independent advice delivered by organisations like FWAG will continue to play a key role in supporting and developing British farming.

Marine Conservation Zones

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to her Department’s Guidance on Selection and Designation of MCZs (Note 1), September 2010, if she will use best information currently available as the criterion for her designation of marine conservation zones.

Richard Benyon: The Government’s policy is that the best available evidence should support the designation and management of marine conservation zones (MCZs).
	It is important that there is an adequate evidence base if successful well-managed MCZs are to be established. DEFRA wants to make sound decisions on which sites to take forward for designation, so we have, and will continue to, ensure quality assurance processes are put in place.
	It was always foreseen that Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee would examine the adequacy of the evidence for the site recommendations produced by the four regional MCZ projects. DEFRA will also be commissioning additional work to support MCZ designation, including an in depth review of the evidence base for all the regional projects’ site recommendations and committing additional resources to carrying out sea bed and habitat monitoring.
	As part of the MCZ process, the Government are also addressing the recommendations of the independent review of the evidence process for selecting Special Areas of Conservation published in July 2011. The processes agreed with Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee comprise three phases which would be timed to enable recommendations to be taken into account in formulating their final advice on MCZs:
	(1) an independent review of the protocols by which they will formulate their advice;
	(2) an independent review of the evidence base supporting regional project recommendations; and
	(3) an independent review of the draft advice from Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, which will then be addressed in finalising their advice to DEFRA.
	We will continue the work to ensure that the recommendations and decisions on MCZ designation and how sites will be managed are based on the best available science and evidence.

Meat: Overseas Trade

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps her Department is taking to support the UK meat industry to access new overseas markets.

James Paice: DEFRA is taking a number of steps to increase exports of meat, and to promote UK food more generally.
	In doing so, DEFRA works closely with a number of partners to identify and target resources on key market negotiations about animal and public health issues for countries outside the European Union. These partners include industry through the UK Export Certification Partnership and Export Certification User Groups, foreign governments, other Government Departments in the UK, as well as the Welsh Government and other Devolved Governments.
	I am delighted to say that exports of meat and meat products rose in the first half of 2011 by 15%. The rising figure is the comparison with the same period in 2010.
	The UK Trade and Industry Strategy and DEFRA’s business plan both contain commitments. During his recent visit to Russia, the Prime Minister personally placed discussions about lamb and beef exports high on the agenda, demonstrating the priority the Government attaches to the issue.

Poultry: EU Law

George Freeman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent progress she has made on complying with the 1999 EU laying hens directive; and if she will make a statement.

James Paice: We expect the vast majority of UK producers will be compliant by 1 January 2012.
	In addition to the industry carrying out its own audits, the Government are making their own efforts to forecast as far as possible likely compliance by the end of the year. Inspectors from the Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency (AHVLA), the agency responsible for enforcing the conventional cage ban in Great Britain, are visiting all known cage producers. They are reminding producers of the need to comply with the conventional cage ban by 1 January 2012 and at the same time finding out producers' intentions, as to whether they will cease production or convert to alternative systems. In addition, DEFRA commissioned ADAS to prepare a report on the progress that the UK egg industry has made towards achieving full compliance with the legislation as at 1 September 2011.
	The intelligence gathered from both these exercises suggests that there were likely to be substantially fewer than 0.5 million conventional cage places still in use at the start of the final quarter of 2011. Of these remaining producers we expect many will either retire from the industry at the end of the year or have a break in production while they decide how best to continue in the industry.
	The Government will be taking tough enforcement action with any UK producers found to be non-compliant after 1 January 2012.

Carbon Emissions Reduction Target

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the insulation industry of the transitional period between the end of the Carbon Emissions Reduction Target and the start of the Energy Company Obligation.

Gregory Barker: We have considered how to avoid a gap if any energy companies complete their CERT requirements before the start of Green Deal and ECO. We will consult on allowing obligated companies, to score any over-delivery, of qualifying measures during the CERT period as early delivery under the ECO scheme.

Carbon Emissions: Public Sector

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of carbon emissions from public sector buildings which are not part of the central government estate in the latest period for which figures are available.

Gregory Barker: The most up to date estimate the Department has of carbon emissions from public buildings in England is contained in a report prepared by Cameo Advisory Services Ltd for DECC in July 2011. A link to this report is:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/tackling-climate-change/saving-energy-co2/2261-camco-report-public-sector-emissions.pdf

Renewable Energy: Feed-in Tariffs

Vernon Coaker: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect on small and medium-sized businesses arising from his planned changes to the feed-in tariff scheme.

Gregory Barker: The impact assessment supporting the consultation on FITs for solar PV
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/fits-comp-review-p1/3416-fits-ia-solar-pv-draft.pdf
	does not estimate the specific impact on small and medium-sized businesses but it does set out the impact on the general level of employment as a result of the change to the feed in tariffs.
	It estimates that 1,000 to 10,000 gross full-time employee jobs could be supported in this sector in the three years to 2014-15 under the proposals. This estimate relates to solar PV installations only and does not account for jobs created as a result of the proposed energy efficiency requirement.

Solar Power: Brighton

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will meet representatives of Brighton Energy Co-operative to discuss the continuance of projects to install and operate four solar photovoltaic arrays in the Brighton and Hove area, which were planned on the basis of the current feed-in tariff rates.

Gregory Barker: My officials are working closely with communities to understand the impacts of the consultation on feed-in tariffs for solar PV, and would be happy to meet. Brighton Energy Co-operative.
	I am also seeking to establish a small community contact group to ensure communities have a direct input into DECC policies as appropriate going forward.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reasons he was not present for the Urgent Question on Feed-in Tariffs on 31 October 2011.

Gregory Barker: holding answer 15 November 2011
	As I made clear in the House on 31 October 2011, Official Report, column 617, Ministers in the Department of Energy and Climate Change operate as a team. I have been leading on this issue, and the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, the right hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne), is very happy for me to do so.

Solar Power: Feed-in Tariffs

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the effect (a) on employment rates and (b) on investment in the solar photovoltaic (PV) sector of his Department's proposed reductions in solar PV tariffs; and if he will make a statement.

Gregory Barker: The impact assessment supporting the consultation on FITs for solar PV:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/11/consultation/fits-comp-review-p1/3416-fits-IA-solar-pv-draft.pdf
	sets out the impact on the level of support and generation as a result of the change to the feed-in tariffs. It estimates that 1,000-10,000 gross FTE could be supported in this sector in the three years to 2014-15 under the proposals. This estimate relates to solar PV installations only and does not account for jobs created as a result of the proposed energy efficiency requirement.

Armed Forces: Electoral Register

David Hamilton: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what steps he is taking to ensure that members of the armed forces are (a) registered to vote and (b) registered for proxy and postal voting when deployed overseas under his plans for individual voter registration.

Mark Harper: The Government are committed to maximising the number of members of the armed forces who are registered to vote ahead of the transition to individual electoral registration (IER).
	The Ministry of Defence is working closely with the Electoral Commission and the Cabinet Office to help service personnel and their families understand their options for registering to vote and how they can vote. Extensive information campaigns are held to encourage service personnel and their families to register to vote.
	Electors who are registered on the basis of service declarations before the move to IER will remain on the register and will not need to register again under IER until their service declaration expires. This will maximise the numbers registered. Postal and proxy voting will also remain available to those service voters.
	In terms of ensuring members of the armed forces are registered for proxy and postal voting, the Government have already announced plans to extend ‘emergency’ proxy voting (the ability to submit a last-minute proxy application between the sixth day before a poll and polling day) to those who are deployed at short notice before an election.
	In addition, we have published draft legislative provisions to extend the electoral timetable for UK parliamentary elections from 17 to 25 working days, and will make a corresponding change for the by-elections timetable, to take effect in time for the next scheduled general election in 2015. These provisions will have particular benefits for service personnel stationed outside the UK as it will allow more time for the dispatch and return of postal votes to overseas locations.

Business: Loans

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how much small and medium-sized enterprises in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) England received under the Project Merlin Agreement to date.

Mark Prisk: As part of the Project Merlin Agreement to make available £190 billion of new credit to businesses in 2011, including £76 billion of lending to small and medium-sized businesses, the banks agreed to make gross lending data available to the Bank of England for publication in aggregate on a quarterly basis.
	As published by the Bank of England on 14 November 2011, the five ‘Project Merlin’ banks, Barclays, HSBC, LBG, RBS and Santander have extended £56.1 billion worth of lending to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) across the UK up to the end of Q3 in 2011.
	The Bank of England does not publish figures under the Merlin agreement broken down by region or nation.

Business: Regulation

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many (a) full-time and (b) temporary staff in his Department are working on the Red Tape Challenge; and what estimate he has made of the required staffing level in (i) 2012-13, (ii) 2013-14 and (iii) 2014-15.

Mark Prisk: holding answer 10 November 2011
	The Red Tape Challenge is led by a joint Cabinet Office-BIS team, which includes five full-time BIS officials. In addition, the Departments (including BIS) that are responsible for the regulations involved in a 'theme' manage and resource their own process. No budget has yet been assigned to the programme beyond the end of this financial year.

Debts: Advisory Services

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many on-site compliance visits have been carried out by the Office of Fair Trading in relation to compliance with its Debt Management Guidance since September 2010;
	(2)  how many of the debt management firms cautioned by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in September 2010 are still operating and not complying with the OFT’s Debt Management Guidance;
	(3)  how many of the firms found in September 2010 to be failing to comply with debt management guidance issued by the Office of Fair Trading are still in possession of their consumer credit licences.

Edward Davey: The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has undertaken 48 onsite visits since September 2010, mostly to those applying for new consumer credit licences to cover debt management activities. The OFT is scrutinising these with particular care in light of the non-compliance identified in its compliance review.
	Of the 129 businesses warned in the compliance review, 53 businesses have exited the market and no longer hold a consumer credit license. The OFT has been or will be in contact with the remaining 76 businesses to discuss their compliance with the OFT’s Debt Management Guidance and if necessary will take enforcement action.
	In addition, following OFT intervention, 69 businesses have exited the debt management market since September 2010. This larger figure results from enforcement action following the warnings issued to 129 debt management firms combined with ongoing action outside of the review.

Nuclear Power: Job Creation

Malcolm Wicks: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions he has had on the potential for creating manufacturing jobs through the building of new nuclear power stations and the associated socio-economic benefits of any job creation.

Mark Prisk: Ministers and officials in this Department and the Department for Energy and Climate Change have regular conversations with the energy and nuclear industry to ensure the delivery of nuclear new-build can happen to time and that opportunities are realised. Central to this is the Nuclear Development Forum.
	New nuclear build in the UK has the potential to afford considerable opportunities for manufacturing firms for both the domestic and global market. The Government support manufacturers, where appropriate, to enable them to realise these opportunities; central to this support are the Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, the Manufacturing Advisory Service, and the work Her Majesty's Government (HMG) are undertaking with the Nuclear Industry Association.
	It is also important that manufacturers have the right skills available in order to grow and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is providing match funding for the extension of the National Skills Academy for Nuclear to ensure that manufacturing skills are properly accommodated.
	The Government have recently provided some funding through the Regional Growth Fund to three manufacturers to help them realise potential opportunities.

Overseas Trade: Environment Protection

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what measures his Department is taking to ensure that UK Trade and Investment and the Export Credits Guarantee Department support UK companies that develop and export green technologies around the world.

Mark Prisk: In May 2011, the Government published “Britain Open for Business” which set out the UK Trade and Investment’s (UKTI) five-year strategy. This included a green export campaign, creation of an export pipeline of innovative green technologies and services and close working with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s (FCO) overseas network to promote green growth.
	The green export campaign positions the UK as a leading provider of low carbon solutions in markets where there are strong, clear commercial opportunities. The campaign promotes the UK’s low carbon capabilities to international buyers and investors. This includes activities for businesses, such as trade missions, trade shows and exhibitions both overseas and in the UK.
	UKTI and the FCO work together using their respective overseas networks to promote green growth. This includes identifying new opportunities for UK businesses stemming from international agreements and overseas Government’s policies in carbon reduction.
	The Export Credits Guarantee Department is working closely with UKTI in actively reaching out to exporters of green technologies so that they are aware of the products available to provide them with credit protection and facilitate the provision of finance.

Overseas Trade: Russia

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect on the ability of UK businesses to trade with Russia of levels of corruption in that country.

Mark Prisk: Russia remains an attractive target for exporters and investors but one that requires research and commitment. It is an important and complicated market with favourable cross-sector opportunities, some unique in scale. UK exports to Russia rose by 48% in the first eight months of 2011 to £2.9 billion. The Russian Government's economic modernisation and infrastructure development agenda, underpinned by the appetite of 140 million consumers for quality services and goods produces a need for international expertise and products.
	HM Government recognise that there is an issue with corruption and that it damages Russia's economic development. Assistance and advice is available to help companies to understand the issues. Advice can be found on the business anti corruption service website of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills:
	http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/europe-central-asia/russia/
	UKTI also provides support through the overseas business risk service:
	http://www.ukti.gov.uk/export/countries/europe/easterneurope/russia/overseasbusinessrisk.html

Trade Unions: Finance

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will consider introducing (a) legislation and (b) guidance to require trade unions to include on trade union membership forms (i) details of individual membership monies being directed into political funds and (ii) an opt-in or opt-out option in relation to payments being made to political funds.

Edward Davey: I have no current plans to introduce further legislation or guidance to trade unions on their management of political funds. The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 allows individuals to opt out of contributing to the union political fund at any stage. Advice is available about this on the direct gov website and use of political funds is regulated and reported on publicly by the certification officer.

Training: Internet

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills when he expects to achieve his target for the number of mentors available to businesses using the Mentors Me programme.

Mark Prisk: Mentorsme.co.uk now provides access to over 60 mentoring organisations and around 11,000 mentors and this number continues to grow. Our aim is to develop a network of over 40,000 business mentors but it is equally important that we ensure that the quality of mentoring provision is high.
	Just last week, I announced new grant funding of £1.2 million to recruit and train 10,000 volunteer business mentors via the Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI) in the new “Get Mentoring” initiative. This is on top of the 5,000 mentors already announced by the Secretary of State for the Home Department, my right hon. Friend the Member for Maidenhead (Mrs May), as part of the package of support for female entrepreneurs on 4 November. The launch of this initiative marks another important step towards growing the number of mentors and will bring the total number of business mentors available through the mentorsme to at least 26,000 by the end of September 2012.
	We are working with SFEDI, trade and business representative bodies, a number of mentoring organisations, the British Bankers Association (BBA) and private business to encourage more experienced business people to become volunteer mentors.
	We must be careful not to compromise on the quality of the mentors available simply in order to achieve this target more quickly. I am not going to set arbitrary targets and timescales. I do not believe that setting specific timescales is necessarily the right or most effective way of achieving our objectives. This should be demand—led, not controlled by Government.

Training: Internet

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many mentors were signed up to the Mentors Me programme on the latest date for which figures are available.

Mark Prisk: Mentorsme now provides access to over 60 mentoring organisations and around 11,000 mentors and this number will continue to grow, including the addition of 15,000 small and medium-sized enterprises mentors for whom I announced funding for training last week.
	I hope that I can rely on the hon. Member to help us in promoting the benefits of mentoring within his own constituency and encouraging more volunteer business mentors to come forward.

Disadvantaged

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  whether his Department has issued guidance on facilitating the involvement of people who are unable or unwilling to engage in normal social and civic life in the Big Society;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the role of the Big Society in combating social exclusion.

Nick Hurd: No explicit assessment or guidance on the Big Society and disadvantaged or unengaged groups has been made or issued by the Cabinet Office to date.
	However, the Government recognises that supporting the most disadvantaged is a key part of the Big Society approach. This focuses on enabling all groups in society to be able to play their part and thrive, through putting more power back into people's hands by opening up public services, promoting social action and empowering local communities.
	These priorities are reflected in the Office for Civil Society's programmes, including, for example: the Community First and Community Organiser programmes which focus on areas of high deprivation and low social capital, National Citizen Service, Big Society Capital and the Big Society and Social Justice Project.

Disadvantaged: Expenditure

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much his Department has spent on tackling social exclusion in each year of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: For each year of the operation of the Social Exclusion Taskforce in Cabinet Office, its budget was published as part of the supply estimates with expenditure detailed in the Cabinet Office annual report and accounts available at:
	www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/cabinet-office-annual-reports-and-accounts

Social Exclusion Task Force: Expenditure

Michael Dugher: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the budget was of the Social Exclusion Task Force in each year of its operation; and how many staff it employed in each year.

Nick Hurd: For each year of the operation of the Social Exclusion Taskforce in Cabinet Office (October 2006 to September 2010), its budget was published as part of the supply estimates.
	The following table shows staff employed in the Social Exclusion Taskforce over the above period. At September 2010 21 staff remained, falling to zero over the following months.
	
		
			 Social Exclusion Taskforce headcount figures 
			  Headcount FTE 
			 2006-07 18.00 17.21 
			 2007-08 23.00 22.61 
			 2008-09 26.00 25.51 
			 2009-10 26.00 25.86 
			 2010-11 24.00 23.50 
			 2011-12 0.00 0.00

Winter Pressures: NHS

Sajid Javid: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to ensure that the NHS is prepared for winter pressures.

Anne Milton: The national health service and social care systems are well prepared for winter. Our 'winterwatch' summary was first published on 17 November. It showed higher flu vaccination uptake, and the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South Cambridgeshire (Mr Lansley), announced additional Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) capacity, that will be in place by December. There is always more pressure on the national health service during winter. This year will be no different, but the preparations are in place.

Diabetes: Young People

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps he has taken to provide young people and adolescents with diabetes with information about their condition and how to manage it; and what (a) online guides, (b) telephone services, (c) apps and (d) other educational services his Department has developed in this area; [R]
	(2)  if he will make it his policy to support the establishment of educational services for young people and adolescents with diabetes which are staffed by other young people with the condition; and what consideration he has given to the form such support could take; [R]
	(3)  what assessment his Department has made of the effect of establishing good diabetes management behaviours during childhood and adolescence on (a) the long-term health of children and adolescents and (b) costs incurred by the NHS in providing treatment of diabetes and diabetes-related issues. [R]

Paul Burstow: The NHS Operating Framework 2011-12 specifically states that primary care trusts should be commissioning the relevant structured education to support all people with diabetes.
	The best practice tariff being introduced soon for paediatric diabetes also includes a requirement for 24-hour support and advice to be available to patients and their families. Local national health service organisations are responsible for providing comprehensive, high-quality and safe diabetes services appropriate to their local populations, including providing information and education to people with diabetes about their condition and how to manage it.
	National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidance on the diagnosis and management of type 1 diabetes in children, young people and adults recommends that children and young people are offered a structured programme of education when they are newly diagnosed, and ongoing opportunities to access information, to help them manage their condition.
	Charities such as Diabetes UK and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation also provide information resources in different formats for people with diabetes.
	We also recognise the difficulties that some children and adolescents with diabetes have in accessing the support they need to manage their condition at school. The Department for Children, Schools and Families, in close liaison with the Department, issued guidance on “Managing Medicines in Schools and Early Years Setting” in November 2007. This guidance explains the roles and responsibilities of employers, parents and carers, governing bodies, head teachers, teachers and other staff and of local health services.
	The information is not collected centrally that would allow assessments of the effects of establishing good diabetes management behaviours during childhood.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the performance was of (a) Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, (b) East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, (c) Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, (d) Medway NHS Foundation Trust against the 18 week waiting time target in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11; and what the performance was in England in each such year.

Simon Burns: The information requested is shown in the following tables. The data shows the performance of each of the four trusts and England in the specified years against the 18-week waiting time standards:
	
		
			   Percentage of admitted (adjusted) referral to treatment (RTT) pathways within 18-weeks (waiting time standard of 90%) 
			   England Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Medway NHS Foundation Trust 
			  April 2008 86.7 71.8 84.7 57.4 92.3 
			  May 2008 88.6 80.2 87.2 62.3 91.8 
			  June 2008 88.9 78.9 87.2 68.5 95.1 
			  July 2008 89.9 80.8 87.5 68.1 96.0 
			  Auqust2008 90.3 87.6 87.0 68.8 96.8 
			 2008-09 September 2008 90.2 96.2 84.4 74.3 95.8 
			  October 2008 90.6 93.9 83.5 81.0 95.4 
			  November 2008 90.6 91.8 81.9 85.2 93.6 
			  December 2008 92.8 94.3 86.1 90.6 96.5 
			  January 2009 92.9 95.4 90.2 90.6 94.2 
			  February 2009 92.8 95.0 90.2 90.2 93.3 
			  March 2009 93.0 94.2 91.3 90.6 94.4 
			  April 2009 93.3 92.0 90.1 90.1 93.1 
			  May 2009 93.7 91.7 90.8 92.3 94.8 
			  June 2009 93.6 91.4 90.4 90.3 94.0 
			  July 2009 93.7 91.8 91.9 90.9 95.3 
			  August 2009 93.6 90.9 91.5 90.1 94.3 
			 2009-10 September 2009 93.3 91.0 91.4 92.3 95.9 
			  October 2009 93.0 91.2 92.3 93.3 96.1 
			  November 2009 92.8 91.1 92.6 92.4 96.3 
			  December 2009 93.3 92.8 92.5 92.2 95.9 
			  January 2010 92.6 91.5 91.5 92.5 95.0 
			  February 2010 91.9 91.1 84.3 93.2 93.7 
			  March 2010 92.0 93.5 81.8 95.0 93.3 
			 2010-11 April 2010 92.1 94.3 86.0 93.3 92.1 
			  May 2010 92.9 95.3 86.9 93.6 91.6 
			  June 2010 93.1 96.0 89.0 94.3 90.8 
			  July 2010 93.3 95.8 91.8 94.4 90.6 
			  August 2010 93.2 93.7 92.2 93.8 91.8 
			  September 2010 92.5 92.8 91.5 93.7 90.5 
			  October 2010 92.4 91.9 92.0 93.0 90.6 
			  November 2010 92.0 92.4 91.1 93.9 90.3 
			  December 2010 92.2 90.1 90.6 94.2 92.9 
		
	
	
		
			  January 2011 90.7 87.8 89.4 92.9 90.1 
			  February 2011 89.8 89.4 86.5 92.9 90.2 
			  March 2011 89.6 94.5 86.1 92.7 91.5 
		
	
	
		
			   Percentage of non-admitted RTT pathways within 18-weeks (waiting time standard of 95%) 
			  Month England Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust Medway NHS Foundation Trust 
			  April 2008 92.1 90.3 96.9 80.0 94.7 
			  May 2008 92.8 91.2 96.2 86.4 97.1 
			  June 2008 93.7 95.7 96,4 90.0 98.0 
			  July 2008 94.6 93.6 96.6 91.1 99.7 
			  Auqust2008 95.0 95.2 97.0 91.4 97.6 
			 2008-09 September 2008 95.4 95.6 96.5 94.2 96.7 
			  October 2008 94.8 96.2 97.5 96.7 96.4 
			  November 2008 96.2 96.5 97.0 95.0 96.3 
			  December 2008 96.8 96.5 97.2 95.4 97.9 
			  January 2009 97.1 97.4 98.6 95.6 98.1 
			  February 2009 97.1 97.4 98.5 95.1 97.3 
			  March 2009 97.2 97.3 97.9 95.2 97.3 
			  April 2009 97.3 97.1 98.3 95.1 97.7 
			  May 2009 97.6 97.2 96.5 95.8 97.5 
			  June 2009 97.6 97.2 97.0 95.4 98.6 
			  July 2009 97.6 97.6 99.5 95.2 97.8 
			  August 2009 97.6 97.8 99.3 95.0 97.4 
			 2009-10 September 2009 97.5 97.7 99.2 95.2 97.8 
			  October 2009 97.6 97.9 99.1 96.0 98.5 
			  November 2009 97.7 97.6 97.6 96.4 98.7 
			  December 2009 97.8 98.2 98.9 95.9 99.0 
			  January 2010 97.7 97.6 95.3 96.2 98.3 
			  February 2010 97.7 97.4 99.0 96.1 98.4 
			  March 2010 97.8 97.9 99.2 96.1 98.9 
			 2010-11 April 2010 97.9 98.0 99.2 96.1 98.7 
			  May 2010 98.1 98.1 98.0 96.0 99.4 
			  June 2010 98.1 98.5 97.7 95.9 98.8 
			  July 2010 98.0 98.4 97.5 96.2 99.2 
			  August 2010 98.0 98.5 97.9 95.8 98.7 
			  September 2010 97.8 98.2 97.2 95.8 98.7 
			  October 2010 97.6 98.7 97.4 96.5 98.8 
			  November 2010 97.5 98.3 96.2 96.0 98.3 
			  December 2010 97.5 98.4 97.1 97.1 98.3 
			  January 2011 97.2 97.7 95.6 95.9 98.2 
			  February 2011 97.1 97.5 95.3 95.7 98.3 
			  March 2011 97.2 98.0 96.2 97.7 98.6 
			 Notes: 1. Admitted RTT pathways are waiting times for patients whose treatment started during the month and involved admission to hospital. 2. Non-admitted RTT pathways are waiting times for patients whose treatment started during the month and did not involve admission to hospital. 3. Adjustments are made to admitted RTT pathways for clock pauses, where a patient had declined reasonable offers of admission and chosen to wait longer.

Obesity

Daniel Poulter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in England aged (a) under five, (b) between five and 16 and (c) over 16 years old, were classified as obese in each financial year since 1997.

Anne Milton: Information is not available in the format requested.
	Information on the percentage of obese children in England is available in the ‘Health Survey for England—2009 trend tables'’ Child trend tables, Table 4. Information is provided for children aged two to 15 in England for the years 1995 to 2009. This information is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/hse09trends
	Information on the percentage of obese adults aged 16 and over in England is available in the ‘Health Survey for England—2009 trend tables’, Adult trend tables, Table 4. Information is provided for adults in England for the years 1993 to 2009. This information is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/hse09trends
	Further information on the prevalence of obesity in children is available through the National Child Measurement Programme. Information is available for children in reception (four to five years) and year 6 (10 to 11 years) for the years 2006-07 to 2009-10. Information showing the prevalence of obesity in these two school years in England is available for each year from the following links:
	Table 1 in the excel file accompanying ‘National Child Measurement Programme: results from the 2007/08 school year, headline results is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles/obesity/national-child-measurement-programme-results-from-the-school-year-2007-08
	Table 1 in the excel file accompanying ‘National Child Measurement Programme: results from the 2006/07 school year, headline results’ is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles/obesity/national-child-measurement-programme-results-from-the-2006-07-school-year
	All these documents have already been placed in the Library.
	Table 1 in the excel file accompanying ‘National Child Measurement Programme: England, 2009/10 school year’ is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles/obesity/national-child-measurement-programme-england-2009-10-school-year
	Table 1 in the excel file accompanying ‘National Child Measurement Programme: England, 2008/09 school year’ is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/health-and-lifestyles/obesity/national-child-measurement-programme-england-2008-09-school-year
	Copies of these documents have been placed in the Library.

Pancreatic Cancer

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the effects of implementing the actions contained in his Department’s document, Improving Outcomes: a Strategy for Cancer on pancreatic cancer survival rates.

Paul Burstow: The coalition Government’s, “Improving Outcomes: A Strategy for Cancer”, was published on 12 January, it sets out a range of actions to improve cancer outcomes, including diagnosing cancer earlier, helping people to live healthier lives to reduce preventable cancers, screening more people, introducing new screening programmes and ensuring that all patients have access to the best possible treatment, care and support.
	The strategy sets out our ambition to bring England’s cancer survival rates in line with the European average by 2014-15. Research has shown that to match the European average we need to save 5,000 additional lives per year. This research also shows that if England’s survival rates were as good as the best in Europe we would save 10,000 additional lives per year. This figure has also been broken down by tumour site, and we estimate that we would save 75 additional lives each year if we matched the best European survival rate for pancreatic cancer.
	The strategy’s first annual report will be published this winter.

Schools: Sports

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how he plans to assess the health benefits children gain from participating in the School Games programme; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the additional health benefits children are likely to derive from being involved in competitive sport as part of the School Games programme; and if he will make a statement.

Anne Milton: The School Games will have a focus on encouraging participation in sport across the spectrum of abilities and experience and those who have not previously engaged in competitive sport. Currently over a third of schools in England have signed up for the School Games. Through their participation, thousands of children and young people will be working towards the Chief Medical Officer's guidelines of 60 minutes of moderate intensity activity a day. The health benefits will flow from the levels of participation, particularly those who are least active.
	We are also funding the development of Change4Life school sport dubs in order to inspire the least active children and young people into participating in the School Games. Initial findings from the recent establishment of 3,000 Change4Life School Sports Clubs in secondary schools are encouraging. We will shortly publish the independent evaluation of the first year of the programme.
	Competitive sport is a way for young people to develop their talents and increase their self-confidence, resilience and self-esteem. It can also help develop important life skills such as teamwork and dedication. The benefits of competitive sport and regular activity can also be seen in improved concentration and academic performance, enhanced cardio-metabolic and bone health and improved psychological well-being.

Transplant Surgery: Public Appointments

Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether his Department plans to recruit a new national clinical director for transplantation following the retirement of the current appointee.

Anne Milton: On 9 November 2011, the Government announced that Chris Rudge has been appointed to chair a Transitional Steering Group (TSG). The TSG has been established to help maintain the momentum to achieve the target of a 50% increase in organ donation rates by 2013 pending the introduction of the NHS Commissioning Board. During the transitional period, the TSG will be focusing on—optimising deceased donation rates through undertaking brainstem death testing and considering donation after cardiac death in all appropriate circumstances, increasing consent rates, increasing donation from emergency medicine, timely referral of donors and better donor management.
	The independent Organ Donation Taskforce was established in December 2006 to identify barriers to organ donation and to recommend what action needed to be taken to increase organ donation within the United Kingdom. Chris Rudge was a member of the taskforce and wrote its first report, published in January 2008, “Organs for Transplants”. The report made a total of 14 recommendations broadly to increase donor rates and to make organ donation a usual part of end-of-life care.